When writing a resume, many job seekers are tempted to stretch their job experiences or enhance the nature of their previous jobs to catch the employer’s attention. While writing a resume we face so many questions in our mind. Can we lie on our resume? Read on to find out.

If you have been lying on your resume, you are not the only one:

Nearly 80 percent of the resumes are misleading.
30 percent job seekers alter their employment dates.
40 percent job seekers inflate their last salary amounts.
30 percent have inaccurate job descriptions.
25 percent show false companies.

Due to these statistics, most of the employers are aware of the resume lies. So, an exaggerated resume is almost always verified. There is a very small line between selling and lying, and job seekers should know not to cross it.
Almost all job seekers have thought to lie in their resumes for some reason or the other. It is the most tempting, when there is a job and you have the required skills, but lack the work experience required. In such cases, it is better to specify in the cover letter, that you have the skills and are willing to learn more on the job. The worst in that case would lead you to rejection. However, looking at the brighter side, the employer may realize that you have potential and call you for an interview.

What if in the above situation you had lied about your experience and you got selected. One lie leads to another. The questions in the interview regarding your experience in that field will need you to lie some more. Once you are selected, you will have to show the expertise you described in your resume, which you do not have. Thus, you end up lying to your boss, your co-workers and your clients.

Besides the fact that lying is immoral, an obvious reason for not lying is getting caught. Most of the employers know the statistics mentioned above. Hence, they do check your viability. You would not be able to show the skills you mentioned in your resume to get the job, and so your lie will be caught or the employer might think you are not apt for it.

When you start searching for the next job, with a true resume format this time, you redo your resume. The problem of listing the previous employer on your resume might cause problems, and the next employer will be curious to know why you were on the job for such a short span of time. Should you lie again? If you do, the employer just has to check your answers with your previous employer and lead you to loose the job again.

So, can we or should we lie on our resume, even if it is a small white lie? The answer would be NO. The best option is to be true to your employer, show him you are interested in learning the needed skills but do not show you already have them!

Author Bio: Jessica has been a good professional writer for business letters, professional Resume and career search. She has mastered in writing resume that helped lots of new job seekers in getting their desired job.

Category: Jobs
Keywords: resume, resume samples, free resumes